Ok. I really wanted to do something for this challenge. One of those ones that made me feel something, perhaps where I could bring others along, as well. I wanted it to be about my son. He's 17 now, and looking at colleges. One more year left of school until he's off and about in the world.
But I really couldn't come up with something. I thought of him holding some text books, walking by a playground where small ones were playing. But I really couldn't picture it. And life was quite busy for him.
So I thought of an old dress of purple satin that I made for minicon years ago, which had no hope of fitting. I had the idea shown here. Different dress. But I didn't like how that looked.
So I took out the wedding dress.
Which seemed really stupid at the time.
Because it was all preserved.
Boxed
wrapped in acid-free tissue paper.
And then I wondered...
Why?
I can't see my daughter wearing it. It's not her style. I hadn't seen it for 26 years. Why not bring it out and play? (No way I'll do "trash the dress" shots. It's such a beautiful thing -- and was so fun to wear.)
This was so hard to do. Doing a selfie is hard enough. But trying to arrange yourself and a reflection and have it work out right is ridiculously impossible. I wasn't shooting tethered, so I had to take a shot or two, and run back to the camera to peek. And then end up in a completely different place in trying the next shot.
To me, this shot represents so much change, simply because I know the changes. To the outside world, it simply shows that the dress no longer fits as it used to. But to me it encompasses 26+ years. The hair is shorter, the body is wider, the face has a few more lines. There have been two children, the loss of two grandparents, the loss of both parents -- way too soon -- old pets passing on, new pets joining us. A move across country. More of the world explored. New hobbies, old hobbies renewed. New friends.
The last time I wore this dress was on the eve of a huge life change. The donning of the dress didn't bring change: it just emphasized how much had changed since then.
We don't know where life will take us. But sit back and enjoy the ride. But take some time to look back and see where you came from.
Thanks for the comments.
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Yes, selfies are really, really tough :) Love the lighting, Wendy. You did a great job with that. How did you light your back?
two strobes -- one turned up more lighting the front, one behind me and to my left lighting the back. I had to adjust a lot in post processing because it was quite underexposed.
I have only done a couple of selfies and they sure didn't involve running in a wedding dress! That's dedication. Love the story Wendy, and BTW, keep it up with the selfies - you do yourself proud :) Oh yah, and congrats on the ribbon!
Your old life won't always fit you
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